All that matters
by Greenkidneys
Summary: Young Anotsu Kagehisa is preparing to embark on his life's mission. A young peasant boy shows up on his doorstep to join him. This is a tale of one friendship and two goals.
1. Change of pace

**All that matters**

_This story is actually three years old. I just found it, realized it was finished and decided to post it. Between some chapters there is a time span of a couple years, between others merely a day or a few hours. I hope this will not be confusing._

_These characters are not mine, they all belong to Hiroaki Samura, except for the occasional side character._

**Chapter 1: Change of pace**

"Young Master! Young Master!" The urgent whisper jumbled his world for what seemed like an eternity. Everything turned brighter and with a stifled moan, Anotsu Kagehisa awoke to another day.

"What is it?" he whispered. What was the hour? It felt a lot earlier than usual.

"I'm sorry to wake you up so early, young Master, but sir Kuroi asked me to." the servant said, bowing his head to the floor. "He said, that a new recruit has arrived. An...unusual recruit."

_Unusual_? The jumble of men they had gathered so far was as diverse as the contents of a trash can. How could anything be considered unusual anymore? Still, Kagehisa got up with a yawn. If he was up, he might as well get started.

As he walked down the hallway, it struck him that, despite the months that had passed since his grandfather's death, he still carried a feeling of relief. No more dread, no more fear, no more shame. Everywhere he looked, he saw respect. Anotsu Kagehisa, leader of the Itto-ryu. Or well, almost anyway. But Abayama was still asleep.

He was free. Life had begun.

Postponing breakfast, he hurried outside, into the cold morning air. _An unusual recruit?_

"He's your age, young Master." Kuroi kept his voice low as they crossed the yard to the recruits' building.

Anotsu studied him. "Is that what makes him a curiosity?"

Kuroi smiled. "No, sire. See, he's...a peasant."

Kagehisa stopped dead in his tracks. Kuroi continued.

"He was very weary when he arrived. I thought about dismissing him right away...but I settled for letting him prove himself first. I had him performing a test of aim...and I must say, it showed potential." They both stopped and he studied his master.

"Your grandfather would turn in his grave, young Kagehisa. But I suspect that that...is exactly what you want, no?"

Kagehisa smiled. "Show me to him."

The boy was dirty, skinny, and had hair resembling a bush. It took a lot of Kagehisa's effort to avoid staring at the tall, spiky straws in wide-eyed fascination.

"You said your name was...?"

"Taito", the boy mumbled, shoulders hunched. His gaze darted between the walls, eyeing everything suspiciously.

"So why are you here?"

"Because I want to learn how to fight."

Kagehisa studied the boy's dirty, weary-looking face, and got a defiant glare back that immediately got on his nerves.

"Well, Taito, first we have to see if you're fit for it. The training is pretty tough. I hope you don't think you're going to become a samurai in a week-"

"I DON'T WANT TO BECOME NO FUCKING SAMURAI!" The scream took Kagehisa completely aback. The door slammed open and Kuroi entered, sword drawn, but he was calmed down with a raised hand from Kagehisa.

Taito sat back down, breathing hard, eyes glazed

"...I wanna kill them. Cut them into pieces. All of them. Every single one." He whispered, almost like a mantra. He looked like he was going to cry.

Kagehisa rose. "That temper will get you killed. Get rid of that and maybe we can make something out of you." He was at first rewarded with a glare, but after a while, it subsided and the boy sagged, looking nothing but weary. Kagehisa looked at him for a while, pondering what he'd been through to be in such a state. After some quick thinking, he made a decision.

"Rest. Training starts tomorrow. Look me up as soon as you're awake." With that, he left to continue his day. An unusual one, to be sure.


	2. Conversation

**Chapter 2: Conversation**

Kagehisa awoke with a start, springing off his futon like it was a viper. For a while, he lay huddled in the corner, trembling, gasping, trying to catch his breath. His heart was racing like a horse.

_You're dead! DEAD! DEAD! _

It had now been a year since his grandfather had passed away, and STILL he was here, to torment, to wreck and destroy. This time it had felt so real it had chilled Kagehisa to the bone. Every wrinkle in the old man's face, every hair on his head, all in perfect detail. That leering grin, those malevolent eyes...after one year, they were as real as ever. _No. A dream. It was a dream. Just a dream._

He stayed in the corner for a while, knees tucked up to his chin, and tried to force himself to relax. This time it didn't work though. Instead, he started to grow angry. The wretched old man DARED! _I'll take this school to where it's never been before, you pathetic old geezer. All you did was sit and whine. Be dead and buried in your shame!_

He scrambled to his feet and started getting dressed. No more sleep tonight. He picked up his axe and went outside. There was no such thing as too much practice, after all.

As soon as he left the building he realized he wasn't the only one up and awake. From the training yard came muted grunting, panting and the unmistakable sound of a blade swooshing through the air. Kagehisa knew who it was before the lone figure came into view.

The boy had good reflexes, in mind as well as body. He still couldn't be called anything but an amateur of course, but he had improved a lot during the months he'd been here. He was driven, that was for sure.

"It will be interesting to see how you handle tomorrow, with no sleep tonight."

Taito spun around with a start. For a second, he just stood there, panting.

"I couldn't sleep." As Kagehisa approached him, he continued. "You should talk, by the way. You're up too." He studied the blade for a while before sitting down against a nearby tree, catching his breath.

Kagehisa remained standing.

"This isn't the only night you have been up, is it?" he asked.

Taito studied his blade intently.

"So what's it to you?"

Kagehisa just sighed and studied the stars.

"Look..." Taito said suddenly "...I just don't want to talk about it, OK? I'm just practicing. I want to get better" he mumbled

Kagehisa looked at him for a while. Then he sat down on the ground, placing his axe in his lap. Taito eyed it.

"That's some mean axe" he grinned.

Kagehisa smiled back.

"Yeah. I chose it myself."

They were both silent for a while.

"You must have liked your grandpa a lot." Taito said suddenly.

Kagehisa stared. The boy continued.

"I mean, since you're doing all this for him." He nodded towards the building where the other men were sleeping.

Kagehisa realized his mouth was open and closed it at once.

"... My grandfather...was unjustly treated." he said after a moment's thought. "It's my duty to restore his honor." _Honor._ He wanted to spit the word out.

Apparently he wasn't as good at keeping a straight face as he thought. Taito was frowning.

"...You didn't like him at all, did you?"

Kagehisa looked away for a second, collecting his thoughts. Then he stared straight into Taito's eyes.

"No."

Maybe it was due to the late hour, the lack of sleep. In any case, Kagehisa found himself telling Taito everything that night. His whole life came jumbling out of his mouth, and every bitter feeling he had ever nursed welled up inside him again. When he was done, he was doing his best not to tremble.

Taito's eyes were open wide.

"Man," he murmured. "But then why...?"

"Because I want to" Kagehisa whispered. Then he started chuckling. "The truth is...if my grandfather knew what I was doing...he'd have been more than furious. And I like it that way. I'll pay my...my 'debt' off to him...but after that – his very memory will be dead and buried." He realized he was spitting the words out and forced himself calm with what seemed like a tremendous effort. Had he just made a fool out of himself?

Taito was chewing on a grass straw, eyeing him uncertainly.

"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked.

The response was a nod.

"Me too."

Silence.

"Don't tell anyone about this." Kagehisa whispered. "Ever."

Taito tensed at first. Didn't like orders. But then he nodded.

When Kagehisa finally got back inside, the sun was just about to rise. Normally, he would have felt a pang of guilt for wasting precious sleep hours. However, this time he felt nothing but relief. Nothing at all.


	3. Magatsu

**Chapter 3: Magatsu**

Taito sat down on the veranda with a heavy sigh. There weren't any parts left of his body that didn't ache. It was like he had rolled down a mountainside and ended up in a bush full of thorns. He tried to move and had to grit his teeth.

But this was how it had to be. He would grow stronger and better and one day he would come down on them all like a hurricane and he would cut them into little pieces, hear them scream and watch them try to run, and then he would go after them and they would all die, die, die. The thought made him laugh until every muscle in his body screamed.

He knew he was a lot harder now than when he came here last year. A lot tougher. The blood running down his face proved it. He wasn't even going to try to wipe it off. He liked it there.

He remembered Anotsu's demonstrations earlier – how he had swung that axe of his around like it didn't weigh more than a feather. Anotsu was damn good. He sighed. Maybe he had a long way to go after all.

He wondered sometimes why Anotsu hadn't just killed his old grandpa if he was such a monster. It was like the guy had been scared of him. Why be scared of an old man when you can handle a sword that well? _I'd have chopped him into little pieces. _

He laid back, pondering this for a while. Now he was thirteen. Imagine if the boys back home could see him now. That made him remember home. All the places where he used to run. The forest where they would catch birds and caterpillars. The swamp where he had found Kenji that night - dead.

The moon was up. And it was almost full. He had always loved the full moon. And the night. Everything turned so quiet. Things that weren't special in the daytime turned special in the dark. A lot more interesting. He would come at them in the dark, under the full moon, and they would scream for mercy but he wouldn't give any. Like a magatsu-kami. They would regret they ever saw him. Taito laid on the veranda under the almost-full moon and smiled.


	4. Winning

**Chapter 4: Winning**

He knew he'd lost as soon as he hit the ground, and when he opened his eyes, the practice sword pointing at his face proved him right. Standing over him, Araya had that slight smile on his lips again.

"Too bad, kid. Better luck next time."

Magatsu groaned - and not from the pain of the bruises and cuts. This was the third time today he'd lost to Araya. The blood trickling down the bastard's face was small comfort. _Fuck fuck fuck. _

"You know, kid...I'll give you this: You're not half bad for someone your age." Araya rested his sword against his shoulder and studied Magatsu. "I beat you this time, but who knows, maybe someday-" His sentence was cut short, and his smile disappeared, as Magatsu's foot was driven straight up into his groin.

"Who... pant ... said the fight... pant ...was over, fuckhead?" Getting to his feet, he quickly slammed the wooden sword against Araya's throat, before the man had even hit the ground. The crowd roared with laughter.

"No more kids for you, Araya!"

"Thass gotta STING, man."

"I can feel your pain, girl!"

All Araya could manage was some strangled curses. His face was white as a futon. And that SHOULD feel good, Magatsu pondered. And hey, maybe it would have. If he'd won fair and square. As it was, he just sighed and went off to wash the blood off his face.

The water was ice cold. He splashed some handfulls of it onto his face, then thought better of it and emptied the whole bucket over his head. Maybe not very practical, but he supposed it was as good a way of venting as any. He'd have to change out of the bloody kimono in any case.

"Is that your version of a bath?"

Anotsu was leaning against the housewall behind him.

Magatsu sighed, silently cursing himself for letting the man sneak up on him.

"First I beat Araya, and then Anotsu starts making jokes. This day had better shape up back to normal before it scares the hell out of me."

He started wiping his face and hair dry with the towel, ignoring the fact that his clothes were soaked. He tried not to think of how stupid it must look.

Anotsu smiled. "I heard about Araya. But I suppose there's no love lost between you two."

"Nope."

"So tell me, why are you drenching yourself instead of walking around victorious?"

"Because I..." Magatsu sighed. He hated this. "Because I wish that, for ONCE, I could win without cheating."

Anotsu smiled a little.

"Since when did 'cheating' even become a word in your vocabulary?"

"Ahh, knock it off. You know what I mean, right?"

"I know what you mean, but I don't agree." _Hoo boy_. Magatsu prepared himself for the lecture.

"Being good with a sword isn't all that fighting is about. A REAL fighter can kill with a pebble, a stick – anything that comes into reach. A REAL fighter uses every-little-opportunity he gets - the world is his weapon! All that matters is to defeat your enemy and, as such, there-are-no-taboos!"

He studied Magatsu.

"...except for catching a cold when you don't have to. Go and get changed. You're all going off running in half an hour."

"Well, you sure know how to cheer me up." Magatsu muttered. As he got up and started heading inside, Anotsu called after him:

"Happy fifteenth birthday, by the way." He got a grunt for a reply.


	5. Guts

**Chapter 5: Guts**

"Have you found him yet?" someone shouted from above, the voice echoing between the ravine walls. Magatsu stopped in front of a bush. In it was a leg.

"Part of him!" he called out. Another guy called from a ledge slightly above:

"Hey, I found an arm here!"

"Swell." Higa grunted. "This is gonna take forever." He was probably right.

As they kept climbing down, picking up limbs and ignoring the bloody lumps of internal organs, Magatsu remembered the kid that had fallen over the edge of a ravine much like this one, back home. He hadn't known the boy that well, but the sight of his body – or what was left of it – had made his guts turn. He'd stayed clear of that ravine for years afterwards.

Funny, though – he had just looked at a torn-off leg in a bush and didn't feel shit.

"I'd leave that," he told a guy stopping to pick up the second arm. "The trunk's gonna be at the bottom, and you don't wanna climb up with that AND an arm, do ya?"

The guy rolled his eyes – a 15-year old kid was telling him what to do and he didn't like it – but dropped the arm.

The trunk was at the bottom, alright. Shit, the climb up would take forever.

"Well hey, I guess his cold sores won't bother him anymore."

"Stupid ass – always had to show off."

"Well, this was his last show."

"Shut up." Higa told the people around him. Everyone turned quiet in a wink. They remained quiet throughout the entire climb.

"We were running among the cliffs, you know, to practice footing and all that. Anyway, this idiot started running really close to the edge. Just to show how brilliant he was." Magatsu snorted. "Not impressed."

Anotsu looked at the body with an expressionless face. Then he dropped the sheet over the face again and sighed.

"Well, he paid for his mistake." His stomach wanted to turn.

"This'll probably make him a helluvalot easier to bury." Magatsu mused. Anotsu managed a slight smile. Maintaining his thoughtful expression, Magatsu's gaze turned toward him.

"Are you OK?"

"...Yes. Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you've got a mangled corpse in front of you, that could be a reason." Magatsu grinned. "I mean, if you're not used to it –"

"I'm fine, Magatsu. Just fine." He'd seen corpses before, clean as well as bloody...but this HAD been a bit much.

The man shrugged.

"OK. Well, I guess I'll leave then. Where's Abayama, btw?"

"He left this morning."

Magatsu stopped. "Left? You're on your own now?"

Anotsu nodded. The Itto-ryu was now his responsibility alone. Abayama had decided he no longer needed his guidance. He should be proud, shouldn't he? Yet, all he felt was nervous. If he didn't pull this through...

"Well hey, congratulations...boss." Magatsu grinned. He actually looked like he meant it.

"Thanks." Anotsu sighed and managed another smile. He waited for Magatsu to leave, but to his surprise, that didn't happen.

"So...you sure you're OK?"

"I'M –" Anotsu cut off the snapping remark. It would only make things worse. Naturally. "I'm fine."

"Then how about going fishing?"

Anotsu blinked.

"Fishing?"

" Yeah. Fishing. You know – hook, line, sinker? I mean, we've been out running all day, so you're not gonna announce yourself as leader until tomorrow, right?"

Anotsu stared at him for a while. Then he smiled.

"No. I guess I won't."

The creek clucked softly. The crickets were singing, along with the wind. Everything was peaceful, lit by the moonlight alone. Magatsu was lying on his back, studying the stars. Anotsu sat, leaning against his own knees, staring into nothing.. Their fishing rods were stuck into the ground, but neither of them paid them any heed.

"Hey." Magatsu said. Anotsu looked at him.

"Hm?"

"What you moping for?"

Anotsu let out a deep sigh.

"I'm just a bit nervous. This is a big step."

"Is it? How much did Abayama help you with?"

Anotsu pondered that for a while. All the decisions HAD been made by himself. Still, he'd always had Abayama there to advise him. If he made a mistake now, it would be his fault alone.

Could he handle this? The sight of the mangled corpse flashed back into his mind. The effect it had had on him felt like a proof of his own weakness. Magatsu had been handling it like it was nothing. Did that mean Magatsu was more a warrior than he was? All those men he trained...if they found out that their leader was weak-stomached...

"Hey, I asked you a question! What you moping about?"

Anotsu gave a start. "Oh. Sorry. I just...I don't know."

"You nervous?"

Anotsu sighed. "Yes. Very."

They shared the silence for a while. Finally, Anotsu gathered the courage to ask, even though he knew he might risk losing what he needed most of all.

"Magatsu...do you think I could handle this?"

Magatsu stared at him, surprised.

"Of course! Why shouldn't you? You're a bloody genius, aren't you?"

"I'm not exactly talking about...strategy. I'm wondering...do you think people will want to follow me?"

Magatsu studied him for a while. Anotsu knew he hardly looked manly, and he had to force himself to stay expressionless during the scrutiny.

"Yeah. Sure."

Anotsu looked at him with some doubt.

"After they've seen you handle that axe of yours, at least." Magatsu grinned a bit. The grin died, though, when Anotsu looked away, and he sighed.

"Listen – isn't it better that people follow you for what you can do instead of for what you look like?"

"Yes," Anotsu whispered, staring off into the night. "I suppose it is."

Somewhere, an owl hooed. They didn't catch any fish that night.


	6. Symptoms

**Chapter 6: Symptoms**

There had been crows circling after a while, he remembered that. After he'd been lying still so long over what was left of her, they had gotten braver. Started picking...

His eyes suddenly snapped open wide, and for a while he laid there, in cold sweat, with pulse like a drum. He hadn't remembered that part before.

Shaking his head, Magatsu sat up in the grass. He looked around to make sure no one saw him, then hugged himself with a shiver. It took a while of sitting by himself in the cold wind before he was ready to head back to the dojo.

On his way, he saw houses in the distance and briefly wondered what the people living there were doing now. The sound of a kid made him turn his eyes towards the road further away.

"But how far LEFT? I'm TIRED!"

"We'll stop and rest in 10 minutes, honey. I just...want to go a little further first." The girl's father had spotted Magatsu, and apparently didn't like what he saw. "Now come on. I'll buy you something sweet when we get to Edo." The girl's whining turned to a slightly less sulky muttering and they walked on, her father throwing occasional glances back at Magatsu, who responded with a grin. The man turned his head away quickly. Soon, they were out of hearing range and out of his life. He stared after them for a long while Samurai. Definitely.

Anotsu was busy doing...something important, as always these days. And Higa and the others were scattered with the wind, this being the only day off in a long time. So, Magatsu went behind a building to practice.

It was funny – when he had first gotten the sword, he had thought he'd never get used to its weight by his belt. But these days he hardly noticed it was there, anymore than he noticed his arms and legs.

The blade stroked through the air, and suddenly he remembered another blade stroking through the air, at another time, 4 years ago, making warm wetness splatter onto his clothes...

Magatsu froze and slowly lowered the blade. He realized he was trembling, and couldn't stop. _Damn! _What was the _matter _with him lately?

Sleep, probably. He needed sleep. Too many nights spent practicing or talking with the guys. He sighed irritably, resisting the urge to throw the damn sword to the ground. It went back into his scabbard and he went back inside.

He woke up on his futon some time later and wondered what the hour was. Everything was quiet, so he assumed it was either very late or very early. None of the other guys were back. He was all alone in the room. Of course he couldn't sleep another wink.

So what to do? Staying in bed was out of the question. Practice? What had happened earlier didn't exactly feel encouraging. Ahh, so what SHOULD he do? Anotsu was probably asleep, and in any case, it wasn't like before, when they could just head off fishing.

Her eyes had looked surprised.

He wondered if there was any food left. He was starving. He thought of all the guys that had died lately. Especially the guy that had stumbled in the woods and pierced himself on his own sword. Clumsy ass. He almost chuckled.

There had only been one bloodstain on her face, strangely enough. Only one, a very small one. On her left cheek.

With a grunt, he got to his feet and headed off towards the kitchen. Maybe SOMEONE was awake. He was starving to death.


	7. Disease

**Chapter 7: Disease**

"Boy, with that kind of temperature, you should lay still for a week," the doctor murmured, and Magatsu groaned. The room was spinning, his head felt like an ant farm on opium and his nose was so stuffed he had to breathe through his mouth. He tried to wave the doctor's hand away from his head, but only managed to hit himself in the process. With a sigh, he gave up struggling. He could see Anotsu grinning through the daze.

"So, you suggest a week of nothing but rest for him?"

"Would probably be good," the white-haired old doctor nodded gravely. "Rest, and the herbs I left. Then he will be fine. Solid young lad." To make it all worse, he gave Magatsu a pat on the head. Then he said something more that disappeared in the fog, and when things cleared up, he was gone and only Anotsu was left.

"Seriously, Magatsu, sometimes you're the biggest idiot I know," he murmured, an amused note in his voice.

"Whad?" Magatsu mumbled. He wasn't exactly clear of what had happened.

"In case you didn't hear what I told the doctor – we found you passed out in the mud on the training ground. You were hallucinating."

"Huh." He tried to remember what had happened. He had decided to go to the kitchen, but no one was there, and no food either, so he had grabbed a wooden sword and...well, after that it got hazy.

"In short, you've caught a cold from not being careful, from not dressing warm enough, from not having sense to stay indoors at night, from not sleeping enough – what the hell are you trying to do? You don't get any extra points from playing martyr, you know."

"I'm nod..."

"Hard work is one thing, Magatsu. Every kenshi has to know his own limits. If he crosses them, well, then he might as well have thrown himself on his own sword."

Magatsu wondered if the man would leave if he pretended to be asleep.

"And just to prove my point, I will send a nice fat lady in here to bathe you every day."

"WHAD?" His attempt to sit up only landed him on his side. Damn, he was weak. He could hear Anotsu's quiet laugh behind his back.

"Well, if you just keep yourself still and follow the doctor's orders then maybe I won't."

Magatsu groaned and rolled back to the futon. Shit.

The day flowed on, as days tend to do, at least from Anotsu's point of view. He went about his tasks as usual, and not until the sun was setting did he think to check up on Magatsu.

He found him lying on his futon staring at the ceiling, his face empty of expression.

"How are things going?"

Magatsu was silent for a while. Then he slowly lifted his index finger, pointing upwards.

"You ndow...the fourteendth spot to the right there sorta looks like you when I squindt."

Anotsu smiled. "I'm glad to see you're keeping busy."

Magatsu snurfled.

"You _did_ drink the tea the doctor left, didn't you?"

"Thad was tea? Persondally, I thing he pissed ind the cup."

"It will keep your fever down. The more you do as you're told these days, the sooner you'll get well." He settled down in the doorway, determined to keep a distance. He sighed. Damn the man. These things spread like vapors. Could he keep Magatsu in quarantaine and keep it in place that way? A separate building? He pondered it seriously for a while, then realized he was much too understaffed to spare the servants needed to check up on him. This secluded room would have to do, and if people got sick, they had to take it. He sighed again.

"Hey, you don'd have to stay here if you don'd wand to." Magatsu muttered.

"I'm out of things to do right now."

"So you thought you'd just stob by and watch mbe suffer, huh?"

"Something like that." Anotsu smiled. "No, I should get going actually. " He rose. "Get better." With those words he left.

When Anotsu woke up the next morning with a stuffed nose, sore throat and fever, he thought of Magatsu and mentally took back every kind word he had ever said to the man.

An extra futon was rolled out in the secluded room, under the much-too-amused surveillance of Magatsu. The first thing Anotsu did when he entered the room was to kick him. That didn't stop him laughing. With an exhausted sigh, the leader of the Itto-ryu pulled the covering over his ears and promptly turned his back on Magatsu, whose laughter faded to content chuckles as Anotsu drifted off to a feverish sleep.

He woke up from the sounds of someone muttering and thrashing about. Slowly coming to, his stuffed head reminded him of where he was and why. A brief sting of panic as he thought of the things that needed to be done today, then relaxation as he remembered Kuroi had promised to take care of it all. Still, he wasn't entirely soothed.

At the other end of the room, Magatsu was tossing and turning. He was probably burning up, but Anotsu was too exhausted to go check on him. Should he ring the bell for the servants? Just as he made up his mind to, Magatsu stopped thrashing. Anotsu sank back onto his futon and listened to him whispering something under heavy breathing. Dazedly, he wondered if he had talked in his sleep too, and if so, what he had said and if Magatsu had heard.

His thoughts were interrupted by the door sliding open and a servant entering gently, carrying a small tray with two teacups.

"Sir Kuroi told me to bring you both this, sire," he whispered. "It's made with the tea leaves the doctor left."

"Thanks. Jus' leave it."

When the door had slid shut again, Anotsu gently removed the two cups from the tray and, aiming carefully, sent the tray flying over to Magatsu where it bounced off his head, waking him up quite efficiently.

"Whad de fug...?" Magatsu muttered irritably as he slowly rose, rubbing his head and eyes.

"Tea." Anotsu explained sternly and sipped his. Oh god. It was the vilest thing he had ever tasted. He shot Magatsu a glare and got a grin in return.

"Yummy, eh?"

"You havend't heard the lasd of this, peasandt boy," he muttered as he, steeling himself, gulped down the entire content of the cup. After that he wanted to retch.

"Holy muderfug..." Magatsu spluttered, throwing his own empty cup to the other end of the room. "I swear dis sduff was brewed to _force_ us to ged bedder. Shid."

With a sigh they both settled down on their respective futons. For a while, all was silence.

"If we give sombe o'dis to de Bakufu...I bet we'd wind in ndo timbe." Magatsu muttered.

"Whad's dat? I cand't hear you. You're gondda have do speak through your mbouth" Anotsu replied acidly.

"Whud?"

Anotsu sighed and started laughing, in pure despair. He had a feeling the following days would be looong.


	8. Recovery

**Chapter 8: Recovery**

It was quiet in the room. Magatsu hated quiet these days. There had been too much of it the five days they had been there. Impatiently, he turned towards Anotsu, who gravely studied the ceiling above him.

"Id's a….a dog?"

"Ndo…id's a bear! Cand't you see it? That head doesnd't belondg ond andy dog!"

Staring at the oddly shaped spot on the ceiling, Anotsu squinted. "Well if you say so."

"You've ndever seend a bear, have you?" Magatsu snurfled. He hadn't thought of that possibility.

"Ndot really. You?"

"Yeah. Twice. Both fromb a log distandce though. Thak God."

"Whad did id look like?"

"Like thad." Magatsu pointed at the spot on the ceiling. Anotsu sighed.

"Care to be a bit mbore specific?" He rose to rest on his elbows and Magatsu decided to do so too. It was getting damn hard to breathe lying down, but hey, at least his throat wasn't as sore anymore. Less silence this way.

"Well...id was big. If id had stood up, id'd probably have beend like...mby lendgth and a half."

"Indterestindg." Anotsu muttered.

"And it had brown, thick fur. Id looks fad, but it mboves really quick. And id climbs drees."

"Drees? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We were taught ndever to climb a dree if we were adacked." And he had taught her that, all proud and know-it-all. Of course she had run to Dad afterwards to ask if it was true. _Couldn't take _my_ word for it. _

"Whad?" Anotsu asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Whad you thindkindg about?"

"Ndothindg." Time to change the subject. "So whad you gonda do ondce you've saved the world?"

Anotsu snorted. Then he started telling, his grand scheme sounding a little less grand when told through a stuffed nose. Most of it went over Magatsu's head. Things would get better, that was pretty much it, it seemed.

Anotsu seemed lost in thought, staring at the ceiling. After a while he noticed Magatsu looking at him.

"Was dat good endough?" he asked.

Magatsu shrugged.

"I guess."

"You dond't sound imbressed. I thoughd a chandge was whad you wanded?"

"I guess."

Anotsu grunted irritably and turned his back on Magatsu after laying back down. Soon silence filled the room again. Every goddamn corner. Another couple minutes and the sounds of Anotsu's soft snoring were heard. Somehow that only made it worse.

It came back to him in little patches. The dirt on the ground next to her. An oddly shaped pebble that had caught his attention for a while. The people in the street. Had they been screaming? Had anyone come to help? He didn't remember. Had she been screaming? Crying? How fast had it happened?

He really should get his sword sharpened. Hadn't it seemed a bit too dull lately? He thought so. Yeah, tomorrow he'd sharpen it, whether he was feeling better or not. Better than just lying around doing nothing. Useless.

So what was the time? Any food soon? He wasn't particularly hungry, really, just bored.

Those squirmy things, he hadn't really realized what they were at that time. He should have known, he realized, since he'd seen Dad cut birds apart...

"Andotsu" he whispered. The snoring continued. It took a couple pushes to stop it and bring a groggy Anotsu about.

"Whad?" he whispered irritably.

Magatsu was lost for words for a while.

"... Id's good."

"Huh?"

"The plan. I...id's good."

Anotsu stared at him, but Magatsu didn't care what he thought at that moment.

"So dell mbe mbore aboud id," he went on.

"_Whad de hegg is wrondg with you?"_

"Nuthin'. Jus'...I'd lige to know how you'd chandge thindgs. I'll be workindg for you, wond't I?"

It took some more convincing, but eventually Anotsu took up his speech where he left off. Itto-ryu guys at every post. Judging warriors by their sword skills, not where they came from. Seemed to make sense. Claws and teeth and stuff. Fat watchdogs. He fell asleep after five minutes.

Anotsu stopped when he realized Magatsu was snoring. Fuming, he seriously considered kicking him. _Bastard._ But what good would it do? It would just keep both of them awake and he needed to sleep. He settled his head back on the pillow with a sigh.

Just five years ago he'd had this idea that they were a duo on a mission. Sent out to turn the world on it's head. _We'd show them all, wouldn't we?_

He studied the snoring man next to him, then turned his gaze to the bothersome spot on the ceiling. A bear, indeed.

How much had other people experienced that he had no clue about? The men he was training...what could be found in the archives of their memories? Could someone like him, someone who had never even seen a bear before, lead a school full of killers to take over Japan?

_But they're all here, aren't they? _Ready to obey his every command. They wouldn't follow a fool, would they? With men like that...you had to prove yourself. They followed him for what he could do, not for what he was. That was all that mattered. Wasn't that the whole point?

His dreams that night were of Magatsu turning into a tree-climbing monster.

"U fuggers...gun...gunna_ kill_ u fug...no...noGOD! STOP IT! Sto-stob laughin...n-nod funny she's DEAD-"

The sounds entered Anotsu's conscience, dragging him to the surface. As the world turned real again, he realized the sounds came from Magatsu, who was thrashing about wildly. Did he have a fever again? Anotsu frowned. They had been fever-less for two days now. Would seem strange if... He walked over and felt Magatsu's forehead briefly. It was cool. Just a nightmare then. Strange. He had never been this loud before.

"ULEAVE HER ALO-one..." His voice was eerie. Shrill. At points, he sounded like he was going to cry.

It wasn't right to sit and listen like this.

"...didn' mean to...no...sorry..I didn'...shud have...GAH! YOU FUGGERS! GUNNA-" He started thrashing even wilder than before until Anotsu, after a moment's hesitation, reached out and placed his hand on Magatsu's. To his surprise, that made him stop and fall still, his screaming fading into whispered mutterings. Another long moment passed, until Anotsu decided to open his mouth.

"It'll be fine," he whispered softly. "We'll get those bastards. We'll kill them all."

As Magatsu's mutterings started trailing off, he continued;

"They'll never do it again. I promise."

Mutterings turned into silence. Silence turned into soft snoring, and Anotsu removed his hand. Settling down on his futon, he felt strangely encouraged. Tomorrow this would be over. They had spent five days in the room, five days with varying degrees of stuffed noses, sore throats, thick air and vile concoctions. Tomorrow life would be back to normal. The sound of Magatsu's soft snoring lulled him slowly back to sleep. _We'll show them all, won't we?_ The thought was as drowsy as the smile he fell asleep with.


	9. Launch

**Chapter 9: Launch**

Anotsu could hear the birds outside. The sun shone into the room, the shade of the trees outside making patterns on the wall. It was a beautiful day.

Seated on the floor in front of him were five of the country's deadliest men. Araya and Higa were discussing something he could not make out. The others just sat minding their own business. Magatsu studied the blade of his sword.

"I suppose none of you are wondering why I called this meeting." Anotsu didn't raise his voice. If he had needed to, he wouldn't be worthy to sit there.

Five cold gazes turned towards him.

"We're starting next week, gentlemen. The reason I didn't call you all later is that I will be away, arranging alternate quarters for you. Most is done, though. Next week, it starts, and this dojo will no longer be a safe haven for any of you from that on. I don't need to explain why."

He studied them, his face expressionless.

"You are the core of the new Itto-ryu. We are here to develop a reputation, with all that that entails. We are here to spread fear. " He carefully avoided sounding too eager, but it was growing slightly difficult. He went silent for a second, then continued:

"This country is run by men who see their swords' blades as no more than something to admire their own faces in. They're soft to the core, filled with nothing but greed and the notion of their own 'honor'. I'm not convinced Japan's enemies will be impressed by the collective seppuku they will commit if war strikes." An occasional chuckle. Some vague smiles.

"How can they be prepared for war if they do not know death, pain, fear or danger?" he continued, paused again, and then his lips quirked in a slight smile.

"Let's introduce it to them."

He was rewarded with five cold grins.


	10. Lunatic

**Chapter 10: Lunatic**

They first struck in full daylight. It was hilarious. They simply marched off to the first dojo on the list, walked up to the gate and told the guards they were there to challenge every kenshi inside. Magatsu would remember the expressions on the guards' faces for as long as he lived. One of them ran inside, the other stayed, and was offed by Araya. Then it began. As they entered the gates, the whole world started moving. Confused, pissed, scared faces. Some ran towards them, others ran from them. All died. Blood covered everything in sight, it seemed, as his blades cut through bone and flesh, sending fountains of red spraying in all directions. They screamed, some in fear, some in pain, others in pride, ridiculous battle-cries that made him chuckle. All turned quiet.

The sound of metal against metal faded eventually, as well as the screams. Left were lots of unmoving bodies, a scene covered in blood and guts and a trembling group of men kneeling before them with their noses in the dirt. Said they wanted to give up, and asked if they might help in any way. Be of service. Magatsu snorted. Raised on silk pillows. As soon as the going went tough, they'd abandon any fucking ideals they'd ever had. Dogs. He wanted to spit in their faces, but Anotsu said he would think about it. Well, that was his headache.

The first dojo was the most secluded one. Anotsu said he wanted the rumors to develop slowly, or something like that. Magatsu didn't care. He stood in the middle of what was once a dojo, his swords covered in blood and guts, and all he knew was, he'd never felt so alive in his life.

And so it went on, dojo after dojo, bloodbath after bloodbath. Magatsu loved every second, every single fight, every single drop of blood that was spilled. At one point, Higa had to step in and hold him back since he was wasting a little too much energy on hacking a corpse to pieces. He thought he had recognized the guy's face. Maybe he was wrong. Hard to see now, anyway. Magatsu grinned.

He was slightly disappointed when Anotsu announced that the last dojo was reserved for him and Kuroi. But he understood. It wasn't unfair. When they approached the gates of the Asano dojo, the moon had risen. It wasn't full, but it was there. It was time.


	11. Victory

**Chapter 11: Victory**

It was dawn when Anotsu finally reached the Itto-ryu dojo. He went straight to his room, and just as he had sat down and started cleaning his axe, he heard the sound of someone storming down the hallway. Before he knew what to expect, the door slammed open so fast he could hear something break, and in stormed Magatsu.

"**WHAT THE BLOODY _FUCK_ WAS ALL THAT ABOUT!**"

Anotsu blinked. "All what?" He managed to hide the fact that his heart was pounding like a drum.

"**YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THEY'RE _DOING _TO HER BACK THERE?**"

Anotsu deliberately waited before replying:

"And what if I do?"

The air seemed thick and cold. Magatsu was breathing heavily, staring at him like he had grown horns.

"You damn son of a bitch," the man whispered. "Is _this_ what you had in mind all along?"

"Is _what_ what I had in mind? Destroying the Asano dojo, with all that that entails? If so, then yes." Anotsu kept his face expressionless.

"That's not what I'm talking about! They're not destroying a dojo back there, they're using a married woman as a whore! In front of her daughter! Pardon ME, O Great Master, but I thought we were kenshi here, not a bunch of PIMPS!"

Anotsu let that final word fade out before he spoke:

"In case it has escaped your attention, Magatsu, I did not pick these men because of their nobility, or reputation for helping old ladies cross the street! I have stated again and again that our mission is to spread _fear_. To develop a reputation. The best way to do this _is_ to cross the boundaries of what is allowed. These men cross those boundaries, and if keeping them means I will have to make sacrifice of what is considered _tasteful_, then so be it."

Magatsu stared at him coldly.

"So you threw your dogs a bone, eh?"

"I merely left you all to decide between yourselves what to do with the woman. If you had a different suggestion than they, it was up to you to stop it."

"I _tried_, dammit! You think they'd listen to me? Araya even said the fighting had made him horny! _This_ is the kind of thing you'd do just to develop a reputation, you sorry little piece of _shit_?"

The temperature in the room suddenly grew hot. Very hot. When Anotsu spoke, his voice was ice.

"I made it very clear from the beginning that I would pull no punches when it came to this. If you, after eight years, still haven't gotten that message, then I can understand you are _disappointed_. I am _SO _sorry for you, believe me, I am."

Magatsu's response was to laugh.

"_You're_ sorry for _me_? _YOU_, who'd stoop this low just to impress a long dead madman whose _guts_ you _hated_! Well, hey, it's returned!" His eyes suddenly had an all-too-familiar twinkle to them. Anotsu had been hoping he'd never get to see that again. "Let's see if you get over your issues before you get to rule the world. Otherwise, who knows what you'd end up doing with it?"

And so another silence. Silence was liberating. When speaking again, Anotsu kept his voice low.

"First of all. I don't think you're the right person to talk about _issues_... Magatsu Taito. Second. This is how it will be. These are the people you will have to work with, and the conditions. If you do not like it, you can leave anytime you choose."

The words hung in the air as they looked at each other. After what seemed like an eternity, Magatsu slowly shook his head and sighed.

"It's just so fucked up," he whispered. "I can't believe you're not seeing it." With those words he turned his back on Anotsu and left.

When the sounds of his footsteps disappeared down the hallway, Anotsu realized he was trembling. Had he been doing that while talking to Magatsu? Strangely enough, that thought didn't seem important right now, as he stood there, biting his knuckles until he almost broke the skin. _If this how it has to be, then this is how it will be. Focus on what's importantt. We won tonight. You're on your way. It's all worth it._

Blood started trickling down his hand. _It's all that matters._

**The end.**


End file.
